University as I see it

Mr.. Rater, ladies and gentlemen I am grateful for the opportunity rendered by all of you to express my opinion in this fiercely controverter subject. To me the period between high school and work, or Post-graduate education, which is called by all of us University, is inevitably the most defining period in our life, as it ends our acquisition in school as well as precedes our career of utilizing what we've learned. For the sake of its special position – between learning and work, that defining period is ordained the special duty of being well seed to acquire some knowledge and abilities that will be soon made use of.Unlike any other period we've ever experienced or will experience, it is never a single period simply to learn something or to use what we've learned; it is a combination of learning and using. Another extraordinary identity of this period is that It's time when we are young and active. Being impressively influenced by the quotation â€Å"Be crazy before being ol d†, many of us have recognized that this is not only a period to forge us but a wonderful while to enjoy, as it will possibly be the last chance that we eve plenty of time to think, to plan, and dodo what we desire.Unfortunately many of us have only realized one of the two major use of university – mostly the entertaining one. They have well but Insufficiently enjoyed the paradise with least rules and restrictions; they are doing whatever gratifies them – spending almost all the time they're awake playing computer games, having fun with their friends all the time, of course while absent from classes.The rest of whoever realized only one use of the period are completely doing oppositely to the former ones; they have always en studying and studying, any time they are not sleeping, even sometimes when they are. The commonly seen phenomenon mentioned above does not stand for what modern university students are all about; In fact It Is something that, If treated wisel y and courageously, can be largely reduced. And such wisdom and courage will be no more than a clear recognition of our Identity and the enormity attached to that Identity.With such recognition, our entertainment will be more relaxing when letting go the fatigue of working; with such recognition, we will realize that we are now not only students that shall learn as much as possible, but adults that need some abilities to take the responsibility of our life; with such recognition, we will soon have a vision of our future that's being more and more clear and close. We are still very young, so we have a lot of time and energy to make our life crazier, more wonderful, and more unforgettable.But we are no longer Immature, so we cannot bear the loss of some Irresponsible deeds that are thought, however, enjoyable when being done. And all these should be kept In mind during the defining period – university. Thank you all. University as I see it By rises career of utilizing what we'v e learned. For the sake of its special position – between any other period we've ever experienced or will experience, it is never a single period simply to learn something or to use what we've learned; it is a combination of learning and using.Another extraordinary identity of this period is that it's time entertaining one. They have well but insufficiently enjoyed the paradise with least the time they're awake playing computer games, having fun with their friends all the hat modern university students are all about; in fact it is something that, if treated be no more than a clear recognition of our identity and the enormity attached to that identity.With such recognition, our entertainment will be more relaxing when letting and more unforgettable. But we are no longer immature, so we cannot bear the loss of some irresponsible deeds that are thought, however, enjoyable when being done. And all these should be kept in mind during the defining period – university. Thank

International Business Communication Phase

The management team from the United States will be in charge of the staffing for said restaurants. There will be a meeting of Executives in the United States, to explain the project and provide everyone with the necessary information needed to complete the task at hand, also giving the chance for all the executives get acquainted. Communication is very important in the business world and is required when expanding business to other countries. To have a complete understanding of a different culture, there has to be respect of customs, manners, and ethnicities.It is important to understand being able to communicate both verbally and non- verbally is the key to success. Because each of the groups may speak a different language, it needs to be priority number one to make sure everyone is on the same page and there is no confusion. Some cultures can feel uncomfortable and insult others, when there is a lack of cultural understanding. Differing cultural standards of these countries include but are not limited to, politics, social, and education.The language hurdles are an issue because of the people not knowing the other language does not understand when people have questions or comments. This will disturb the demonstration because it can cause confusion with communication between the different people and can cause them to be confused of the meeting and the information that they need to operate the business as taught. Language barriers can also cause rational replies and destructive sensitive replies. There are many approaches to aid everyone to improve a relationship with each other to help in conveying, execution, and growth.Other approaches consist of creating a bond, ask questions about their culture, opinion, and customs, and listen courteously to all persons to gain a complete understanding and knowledge of their views and their culture Conveying proficiently will let agreeing conditions between businesses partners become more easily. The win-win model would be the best form of a negotiating model for negotiating each set of partners. The win-win model entails agreeing on terms, both sides believing they have won.Conditionally, there are different types of coming to terms more efficiently. The key to coming to an agreement, there needs to be an agreed upon set of terms both arties understanding what the other party wants, without taking away from the initial goal. A conflict can possibly arise, if there is a conflict of interest or if one feels one way and the other individual feels another way. When conflict arises, it is very important to know that there is a conflict and a resolution is required.The outcome of a conflict can be either positive or negative. There are many techniques that can be developed to assist in handling conflict. It is important to know how important it is to satisfy your own needs and the needs of the other individual needs. To overcome conflicts, there are many strategies that you can use. Taking care of you and knowing yourself consist of understanding triggers and creating a better environment. The next strategy is to clarify the personal needs that are threatened by the conflict.To clarify the personal needs, means to be substantive and identify what the desired outcome of the negotiation process is. Find a safe place to negotiate is another strategy that consists of appropriate space to negotiate, appropriate time, and agreeing on the ground rules. Taking the time to listen ill help when conflict arises; because it will help you know what is being said by listening actively and help you have a clear understanding of what the other individual is saying.Specifically and clearly asserting your needs means to build from what you are hearing and using messages to clarify what is being said. Approaching flexibility and problem solving is a method for handling conflict and it means to find a solution or options identify the issues concisely and clearly, are open-minded, and to clarify what th e criteria is for making the right decisions. Managing the issue calmly, patiently, and successfully will help to clarify any feelings, focus on the interests and needs, and to take a break.Also, implement and evaluate the issue and know what the cause was for the conflict and it will show you how to handle it if the situation was to arise again. Errors that can happen when negotiating contracts are very likely. Making sure when asking questions you leave the question open so the other party feels like they are being included. The other parties needs and expectations are considered, this helps them feel what they are proposing is not being disregarded. Self-defeating compromise is another mistake to avoid.This is cause from the fear of losing the deal or fear that the people you are negotiating with are taking advantage of you. Directing insensible messages is a no-no because it will show when a person is anxious or self-critical, the best thing to do is manage the problematic thoug hts. Short term thinking will help to end the negotiating process fast and help gain immediate benefits. Talking too much is a mistake, because it can cause you to negotiate against yourself, rather than for yourself. When negotiating, you have to wait or pause and be informal able with being silent.Requiring face to face meetings is a mistake because it is best to negotiate at a distance. Negotiating at a distance will help come to a better agreement and it help an individual concentrate more on the high priority items by looking at the issues in an abstract way. Being too pasty is a mistake that is made by most individuals when negotiating because it makes things look desperate when you are trying to push an individual to say yes. Rather than push the individual to say you, you need to provide the individual what the chance to say not.

Book Report: Camp Rock Stage Fright

Book Report Camp Rock: Stage Fright By: N. B. Grace Camp Rock: Stage Fright I. Summary: It is a well-known fact at Camp Rock that the director, Brown Cesario, loves to tell stories about famous rockers he knows and about his days on road. But what is not a well-known is that Brown can tell a mean ghost story, and because of that, Camp Rock has an annual Scary Story Bonfire. Everyone is allowed to tell their own story. Rockers were too excited for the bonfire; they cannot wait until midnight so they convinced Brown to spill his story during lunch.By the time all the campers had arrived to the campfire; grabbed some snacks and found sits, the lights had disappeared leaving them with a big bonfire while the stars were twinkling at the night sky. Brown started the tradition by saying some introduction. He let Barron James to take over and tell them the first story of the night. It was terrifying until someone scared Tess, and they all laughed because Tess screamed so loud, and fell backw ard off her log. The next one is Tess Tyler. She told them her â€Å"scary† story that was about her doing the chores. That was scary for her.Andy was the next one and he did it with some twist. He tells his story with rhythm using bongo drums. It was pretty cool. Then the last storyteller was the master storyteller as they call him. Shane Gray was the last one to tell story because he always tell them an awesome yet inspiring spooky story. He used different story for this bonfire and was dedicated to someone, Mitchie. Mitchie Torres was having trouble finding her music. She had been working on a song all week but she cannot finish it. When she writes one verse, she will just get stuck after it. Every line she had written seemed forced.Every note she tried sounded false. Shane knew that she was having a trouble. He knew that some people were saying things about Mitchie being close to him. They said that she only uses him for popularity and he knows that it was not the truth. So he just find a way to make her feel that she does not have to believe them. Shane told them a story about Sam and his guitar. Sam died and his soul was on his guitar, and it’s playing by itself, but not everyone can hear it because only true musicians with soul can hear it. Mitchie tested out if the story was true. She went to the woods and thought about Shane’s story.She waited until she heard some blues song somewhere deep in the forest. She cannot believe it until she saw Shane playing a guitar. It is already midnight when Mitchie and Shane decided to go back to camp. When they were already too far, a few blues notes shimmered through the air, then slowly faded away into the night. II. Reaction: I appreciated that they have made a sub-story about Camp Rock movie and I’m glad that they have. Even though I have not read the first six books, this story still inspired me and made me want to go buy the other six books and the book after this.It is more detailed than the movie. They elaborate the life of Mitchie being there at camp. The story was funny, scary, entertaining and inspiring. All of my favorite genres were altogether in this. Most importantly, this story is about music. 1. Did you enjoy the book? I enjoyed the book because it was entertaining. It was about the character’s passion about her music. It was scary and funny, yet inspiring. That’s why I find it entertaining. 2. Was it well-written? Why or why not? It is very well-written even though I find it weird because the letters were too big.I felt like I’m reading a children’s book, but I understand why. It is because it was published by Disney Press which is a publishing group of books for kids. It is a page-turning book because you know that it has many surprises by the next page. 3. Which characters play important role? Explain. Mitchie Torres plays the most important role because the whole story rotates about her. She was the one having the stag e fright. The second one is Shane gray the one who helped Mitchie to find her music. And the last one is Brown Cesario, the director of Camp Rock who started and organized the bonfire. 4.What can you say about the writer’s style of writing? Is it easy to follow? Difficult? Incomprehensible? Explain. It is easy to follow because it is pretty simple with simple words. It was written in teenage language that everyone could understand and it totally rocks. 5. Was the ending of the story satisfactory? Why or why not? Even though it is not yet finished because there is still a book after it, I am satisfied with the ending of the story that the main character was back to being herself again. She already realized that she really got the talent and she finished the song she’s been struggling with. . What moral did you gather from the story? I’ve learned many wonderful things from the story. The most important of them are friendship, trust and believing. For me, friendshi p is the most important thing in the world, without it you are nobody because even if you’re not popular, you still have your friends to support you and be there for you. And with that, here comes the trust. You just have to trust them that you will be okay, then believing, you have to believe them that they are going to be there when you need them.Also believe in yourself, do not be ashamed of who you really are. Believe in your talents, you deserved it so use it. Everyone is perfect in unusual ways; you just have to believe in yourself. 7. Would you recommend that this book be read by others? Why or why not? I already recommended this book to my friends and told them that it was awesomely cool. I recommended it to them because I know that it will inspire them too. I know that it will help them to gain their self-confidence and lead them to their special talents and achieve their dreams.

Discussion 7 Art Conservation & Restoration and Art Therapy Essay

Discussion 7 Art Conservation & Restoration and Art Therapy - Essay Example These individuals have skilled training in drawing, sculpting, painting, and other visual media in order to apply it as treatment and analysis (What Is Art Therapy, 2011). These skills are applied toward assisting other individuals using artworks as a form of treatment. Basically the therapist art materials to counsel patients during sessions. The practice of art therapy has only been a significant consideration for about forty years. It can naturally be assumed that the growing practice has several issues. To name a few, art therapist suffer encounter issues in cultural boundaries, ethical standards, and limitations in practice. Misunderstanding between cultures is a typical process this day in age. Since art therapy has been growing in the number of practitioners and it is readily available to anybody who wishes to seek its assistance there ethnic boundaries. Individuals who seek help with an art therapist can easily be miss diagnosed if they therapist is not familiar with how their culture relates to their expression. The lack of words in this case could be harmful to the patients well being. In the case of the therapist, it is important to recognize cultural differences in order to be able to understand where the client is coming from. When dealing with professional positions ethical practices are important. Therapist have to be careful how much in-depth information is given to the client. When using art therapy the interpretation of the therapist could easily be transferred to the work of the patient. Avoiding this might be tricky in the field of art therapy, but it is significant because the patients stability could depend on it. There is also a lack of information that can be processed. When art therapist administer to their patients they are expected to treat them while handling art materials. But, there is only so much a person can offer in the form of art. The

Chivalry Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Chivalry - Research Paper Example e point of view of benevolent sexism, women may be seen as loveable, delightful pure beings that have to be looked after or cared for and whose affection is needed to fulfill a man’s life. Certain women may even embrace this idea of ‘protection’ as valuing instead of controlling (Viki, Abrams, & Hutchison, 2003). This essay discusses how benevolent sexism and hostile sexism work together to maintain and reinforce existing gender status quo. Benevolent sexism—even though similarly limiting to women as hostile sexism—works to appease women’s opposition to deeply embedded gender inequality due to its appealing principle. By portraying women in a positive way and guaranteeing benefits to women who are capable of associating themselves with a strong, influential, powerful male defender, benevolent sexism melts down women’s opposition into patriarchy. Women who rely on men for their security, happiness, and comfort are less able to question or defy men’s authority or to seek their own individuality and freedom. Generally, women who embrace and support long-established gender relations become romantic objects, mothers, and wives. As a consequence, they experience benevolent sexism outlooks, behavior, and treatment. On the contrary, women who are seen as defying or robbing men’s control become objects of hostile sexism (Viki et al., 2003). Although dividing women’s images into separate female categories, hostile and benevolent sexism integrate reward and punishment mechanisms and could work in balancing ways to sustain and perpetuate gender inequality. Classifying women into categories also directly results in seclusion among females, making them more fragile and divided rather than strong and unified (Viki et al., 2005). Glick and Fiske (2001) stated that benevolent and hostile sexism are an â€Å"interlocking set of beliefs that reflects a system of rewards (benevolent sexism) and punishment (hostile sexism)† (as cited in Becker & Wright, 2011, 63)

Why should we stop worrying and learn to love WK3 assignment Essay - 1

Why should we stop worrying and learn to love WK3 assignment - Essay Example How could our police force be so lax as to not have been able to identify such problem people in the crowd of faces in the mall or in schools? The answer is simple. Nobody was watching. Our perimeters were not secure because constant monitoring and surveillance of people still cannot be accomplished without a court order. Although surveillance cameras are already planted in strategic areas of cities, its scope and use is still limited by law and therefore, hinders its ability to protect the population the way that it potentially could. Keeping these events of innocent bloodshed in mind, I cannot help but agree with James Stacey Taylor and his explanation of the need to embrace Big Brother in our daily lives as he describes it in his essay â€Å"In Praise of Big Brother: Why We Should Learn to Stop Worrying and Love (Some) Government Surveillance†. With the proper safeguards in place, the Orwellian nightmare that most people predict shall not happen because just like everything else pertaining to a persons right to privacy, the government may have access to certain information about you, but they do not have the legal grounds to blackmail or use the information they gathered against a person if it does not relate to a judicial proceeding. Our Fourth Amendment Rights and Wrongful Seizure Rights as protected by the Supreme Court rulings have made sure of that. As our population continues to become more and more comfortable with the way social media such as Twitter and Facebook has made our every move available to people in a wide-scale basis. I believe that the fear pertaining to the misuse of surveillance information will also fade into the background over time. That is because the events that happen in our daily lives, that show the efficiency and need for the constant surveillance is of the utmost importance in protecting the population will eventually push the people to clamor for more government

MRI Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 3

MRI - Essay Example Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) produces detailed images of the body’s internal organs and problems associated with the organs. It is procedure that has typically no side effects and cast images with no fear of pain. The process uses magnetised radio radiations and draws the images when the waves reflect back to the scanner. It is different from the CT scan or CAT scan. An MRI scanner is composed of two donut shaped tubes that are joined by a hollow tunnel that holds a person. The donut shaped tubes produce powerful magnetized radiation. A sliding table holds patients and it slides into the tunnel of the scanner. However, some MRI centres have MRI scanner with larger openings to hold patients that are suffering from claustrophobia. Most hospitals now have MRI scanners; while dedicated MRI centres are also opened for the ease of patients. The MRI scanner generates powerful magnetic waves that interact with the atoms of the patient’s body. During interaction the magnetic waves makes the atoms of body to be in particular pattern. The pattern is observed by the powerful antenna and sent to the computed that draws an image with respect to the observed pattern. Computer converted image both in 2d and 3d formats. The results are viewed by the physician to diagnose the problem. Kindly bring other examination reports like X-ray, Ultra sound, CT scans, Nuclear Medicine Scans or previous MRI scan reports along with you, if you can. This may help the physician to make comparison between the reports. Kindly do not let your child to wear any type of metallic jewellery like chins, hair clips or rings as metals may disrupt the magnetic resonance waves. Check you child carefully before the examination begins. If the child’s physician recommends using dye to clarify the results, be sure that child’s takes nothing by mouth (NBM) several

Save Money Britains Macroenvironment Coursework

Save Money Britains Macroenvironment - Coursework Example Social Save Britain Money achievement have also been as the result of social aspects that the company has adopted. For example, the NES surveyors visit the customers in their homes and advise them on the various improvement strategies that can be done on services provided by the company (Gentle, 2012). Additionally, the company maintains an active work force whose majority are less than 34 years. In this way, the staffs are energetic to undertake the company activities. As compared to other organizations, the employees are fairly treated including high compensation. The strong relationship between the employees and the management has also contributed to the success of the company (Li and Bernoff, 2008). For example, through the â€Å"tell the CEO† initiative, the employees can freely intermingle with the chief executive officer and provide their views on the company operations (Lardi and Fuchs, 2013). The staffs are also provided with opportunities where they practice their skills th us developing themselves. The social contact between the company and the 15,000 households has also contributed to the high demand for the company products resulting in increasing the customer savings (Mary, 2010). Technology SBM emulates technology in order to provide services that meet the needs of its customers. For example, in 2013, the company launched Green Deal, an innovation that allows the householders to make energy savings or improvement of the company services without upfront costs (Teich, 2008).

Select a recent research journal article that presents the results of Literature review

Select a recent research journal article that presents the results of empirical research in an area that you are interested in - Literature review Example The paper â€Å"Cultural Values and International Differences in Business Ethics† by Scholtens and Dam provides a limited and preliminary analysis of the ethical policies of industries in different countries in relation to the cultural differences prevailing between countries. The analysis, covering around 2700 firms in 24 countries, suggests significant country specific variations in ethical policies. As for the dependence of country culture in the shaping of ethical policies, some pattern does seem to emerge. The analysis indicates that the cultural dimensions of individualism and uncertainty avoidance tend to impact a firm’s ethical policies positively. Masculinity and power distance on the other hand, seem to have a negative effect on the shaping of ethical policies (pp.273, 276). The research questions are, firstly, whether there are any significant differences in the ethical policies between industries belonging to different countries, and secondly, how the ethical policies are related to typical cultural values in a country. The underlying reasons for some countries consistently outperforming many other countries all over the world may be inherent in their cultures. This analysis is aimed at exploring the existence of such associations and the extent of their impact. The analysis does not use any questionnaire but uses other sources which have compiled data using questionnaire and survey techniques. It builds on the findings of Langlois and Schlegelmilch (1990), Hood and Logsdon (2002), Kaptein (2004), and Singh et al. (2005). The analysis also uses Hofstede’s (1980,1991) dimensions of culture. The authors feel that this paper may be the first to do quantitative analysis of the relationship between culture and business ethics (Scholtens and Dam, p.279). Data gathered on the basis of questionnaire and survey of firms in various areas by Ethical Investment Research Service (EIRIS) is used to derive data on

Influence of Nature and Nurture Developmental Research Essay Example for Free

Influence of Nature and Nurture Developmental Research Essay How many bald, six-foot-six, 250-pound volunteer firefighters in New Jersey wear droopy mustaches, aviator-style eyeglasses, and a the influence of nature versus key ring on the right side of the belt? nurture. The answer is two: Gerald Levey and Mark Newman. They are twins who were separated at birth. Each twin did not even know 25. 2 Describe developmental the other existed until they were reunited—in a fire station—by a research techniques. fellow firefighter. . . The lives of the twins, although separate, took remarkably similar 25. Discuss prenatal paths. Levey went to college, studying forestry; Newman planned to development. study forestry in college but instead took a job trimming trees. . . . Both men are unmarried and find the same kind of woman attractive: â€Å"tall, slender, long hair. † They share similar hobbies, enjoying hunting, fishing, going to the beach, and watching old John Wayne movies and professional wrestling. Both like Chinese food and drink the same brand of beer. learning outcomes 25. 1 Compare and contrast The remarkable range of similarities we see in many pairs of identical twins raises one of the fundamental questions posed by developmental psychology, the study of the patterns of growth and change that occur throughout life. The question is this: How can we distinguish between the environmental causes of behavior (the influence of parents, siblings, family, friends, schooling, nutrition, and all the other experiences to which a child is exposed) and hereditary causes (those based on the genetic makeup of an individual that influence growth and development throughout life)? This question embodies the nature–nurture issue. In this context, nature refers to hereditary factors, and nurture to environmental influences. Although the question was first posed as a nature-versus-nurture issue, developmental psychologists today agree that both nature Gerald Levey and Mark Newman 282 Chapter 8 development and nurture interact to produce specific developmental patterns and outDevelopmental psychology The comes. Consequently, the question has evolved into How and to what degree branch of psychology that studies the do environment and heredity both produce their effects? No one grows up patterns of growth and change that free of environmental influences, nor does anyone develop without being occur throughout life. affected by his or her inherited genetic makeup. However, the debate over Nature–nurture issue The issue of the comparative influence of the two factors remains active, with different the degree to which environment and approaches and different theories of development emphasizing the environ- heredity influence behavior. ment or heredity to a greater or lesser degree (Pinker, 2002; Gottesman Hanson, 2005; Rutter, 2006). For example, some developmental theories rely on basic psychological principles of learning and stress the role learning plays in producing changes in The nature–nurture issue behavior in a developing child. Such theories emphasize the role of the enviis a key question that is ronment in development. In contrast, other developmental theories emphasize pervasive throughout the the influence of one’s physiological makeup and functioning on development. field of psychology, asking Such theories stress the role of heredity and aturation—the unfolding of biohow and to what degree logically predetermined patterns of behavior—in producing developmental environment and heredity change. Maturation can be seen, for instance, in the development of sex characproduce their joint effects. teristics (such as breasts and body hair) that occurs at the start of adolescence. Despite their differences over theory, developmental psychologists concur on some points. They agree that genetic factors not only provide the potential for specific behaviors or traits to emerge, but also place limitations on the emergence of such behavior or traits. For instance, heredity defines people’s general level of intelligence, setting an upper limit that—regardless of the quality of the environment—people cannot exceed. Heredity also places limits on physical abilities; humans simply cannot run at a speed of 60 miles an hour, nor will they grow as tall as 10 feet, no matter what the quality of their environment (Dodge, 2004; Pinker, 2004). Figure 1 lists some of the characteristics most affected by heredity. As you consider these items, it is important to keep in mind that these characteristics are not entirely determined by heredity, for environmental factors also play a role. Developmental psychologists also agree that in most instances environmental factors play a critical role in enabling people to reach the potential capabilities that their genetic background makes possible. If Albert Einstein had received no intellectual stimulation as a child and had not been sent to s tudy aler t Height Weight Obesity Tone of voice Physical Characteristics Blood pressure Tooth decay Athletic ability Firmness of handshake Age of death Activity level Intellectual Characteristics

Project proposal Essay Example for Free

Project proposal Essay RESEARCH TOPIC PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL AS AN INSTRUMENT FOR EFFECTIVE HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (CASE STUDY OF CHEVRON) INTRODUCTION BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY â€Å"Performance appraisal is an evaluation of the appraisee performance in his or her job while potential appraisal helps in discovering the appraisee’s capabilities, skills and talents for development.†(Obisi, 1996). Worldwide, performance appraisals are used in nearly all organizations. There are different tools and number of goals that performance appraisals focus to examine individual’s performance and potential of development, (Leena and Twinkle, 2012: pg01-06). Therefore, the general area of our study is performance appraisal systems in organization. Only minority activities in personnel management are concerned with evaluating employees as individuals. Performance appraisal is a planned interaction between employees and their supervisors, during which the former examine the performance of the latter to identify strengths and weaknesses with the view to improving future performance, (Kofi, 2012: pg22). For their, appraisal is part and parcel of an important personnel activity salary planning and administration. Having accepted that staff performance appraisal is a legitimate activity in organization, we shall familiarize ourselves with the difficulties concerning both accuracy and fairness. It is important to note that the culture of value-system of the organization will act as the major determinant of both the appraisal scheme adopted and the way it is introduced. For instance if the culture is one which favors control and measurement of people, then it is likely that system will be imposed on the participants, but that it will at least contain some measurable criteria against which to judge performance. But where openness performance are encourage, any system will be discussed first with those involved, with the result that appraisals are more likely to be joint problem – solving affairs rather than a calling to account by a superior. Similarly, we can appreciate the importance of performance appraisal when we realize that it is through it that organizational progress at the target and productivity of workers can be evaluated. For instance, a high performance rating tells the workers the organizations is aware of his devotion to his job increase his performance via the goal when were set. The above arguments are not weights. Today open appraisal system has come to stay and any organization, which ignores open appraisal system, should be prepared to face the negative consequences of low performance, conflict and uncertain future. (Obisi, 1996). Alo, (1999) defines performance appraisal as a process involving deliberate stock taking of the success, which an individual or organization has achieved in performing assigned tasks or meeting set goals over a period of time. The specific subject matter of our t is study concern the use of performance of employee as a basis for judging the contribution and weakness of emplo yees so that continuing efforts can be made to build a strange and more effective organization performance appraisal system helps in retaining promotional and retaining policies. Performance appraisal as the process of appraising staff performance against previously agreed standard and targets. It is based on guidelines given to employer by the management of what is expected of them in terms of organizational objectives. Performance appraisal involves the observation and evaluation of employee work behavior or the result that behavior by some. To appraise is to judge the work quality or conditions of something or to find out its value. However, it is important to note that one of the responsibilities of manager is to evaluate the performance of his subordinates. The essence of the evaluation is to assess their character, attitude, potentials and past performance on the job. According to Alo (1999) defines performance appraisal as a process involving deliberate stock taking of the success, which an individual or organization has achieved in performing assigned tasks or meeting set goals over a period of time. Atiomo (2000) agrees with Fajana (1997) that perfor mance appraisal is a system which provides organizations with a means of identifying not only what people’s performance levels are but which areas those levels need to be improved if maximum use is to be made of human resource. In most organizations, there is always a way instituted to evaluate productive behavior of the workers. This is important if the goals for which  organization was established are to be attained. Further, most industrial organizations institute mechanism to solve human problems of workers such as motivation and job satisfaction with an overall objective of ensuring higher productivity. STATEMENT OF PROBLEM The process of appraising the performance of employees is made difficult by the fact that criteria of effective performance are frequently difficult to define, the areas of performance for which an individual is responsible are often unclear and evaluation tend to be based not on measurement of actual performance but on the perceptions and judgments of an employee’s immediate boss. And also there can be ineffective if the performance appraisal system does not correspond with organizational culture and system. Despite that performance appraisal will be of immense assistance to management in formal organizations in general and CHEVRON NIGERIA LIMITED. It can be detrimental to quality improvement: it has been proposed that the use of performance systems in organizations adversely affect organizations pursuits of quality performance. Negative perceptions, quite often individuals have negative perceptions of performance appraisal receiving and/or the anticipation of receiving a performance appraisal can be uncomfortable and distressful and potentially cause tension between supervisors and subordinates. Performance appraisal should provide accurate and relevant ratings of an employee’s performance as compared to pre-established criteria that is organizational expectations. Legal issues: if performance appraisal are not carried out appropriately, legal issues could result that place the organization at risk. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The main purpose and objective of studying performance appraisal systems is as follow. i.To understand varieties of an heir use in personnel administration and motivation of workers for higher productive behavior.  Evaluate the strength of performance appraisal in supplying data that could help the management of the CHEVRON NIGERIA LIMITED to make an efficient use of its human resources. iii.To understand problem of performance appraisal system and reaction of workers to consequences of their adoption iv.Highlight whether the appraisal technique as presently  creates a learning experience for the employees of the organization to motivate them on improving their level of performance on the job. v.To find out whether the employees of the company are usually satisfied with the way they are being appraised by their supervisors. Vi.Find out how effective is the use of performance appraisal technique as a toll for determining promotion, salary increases and training. RESEARCH QUESTIONS To direct the conduct of this study, the following research questions were developed whose answers will go along in attaining the objectives of the study. i.Do you agree with the fact that performance appraisal is significant to the personnel and effective human resource manager? ii.To what extent can Performance appraisal as an instrument enhance effective human resource management? iii.In what areas has the Chevron Nigeria Limited performance appraisal scheme created an impact on employees? vi.Are performance appraisal reports usually a true reflection of employee’s strength and weakness? v.Is the present appraisal scheme appropriate for evaluating suitability for promotion and salary increment? vi.Do bosses influence performance appraisal reports? Could proper use of performance appraisal lead to employee’s motivation? RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS The following research hypothesis has been developed for the purpose of this study tested for acceptance or rejection. H0:The usefulness of performance appraisal is significant to the personnel and human resource managers. H1:The usefulness of performance appraisal make no significant to the personnel and human resource manager. H0:Performance appraisal could be used to enhance employee’s performance H1:performance appraisal could not be used to enhance employee’s performance. H0:performance appraisal systems usually a true reflection of employee’s strength and weaknesses H1:performance appraisal systems does not usually reflect a true employee’s strength and weaknesses H0:Present appraisal scheme is appropriate for evaluating suitability for promotion and salary increment H1:Present appraisal scheme is not appropriate for evaluating suitability for promotion and salary increment. H0:Proper used of performance appraisal leads to employee’s motivation. H1:Proper used of performance appraisal does not lead to employee’s motivation. SCOPE OF THE STUDY Because of the time constraint, the research will be primarily directed to the country headquarter CHEVRON NIGERIA LIMITED located at 2, Chevron drive, Lekki Peninsula, Lagos, Nigeria. It will delve into such sensitive and areas like promotion, salary increases, training and reward for hard work. To make the research work more reliable and valid the sample study will cut across all categories of junior staff, officers and management staff. It is my sincere hope that the study of the research will be of immense assistance to the management in formal organizations in general and CHEVRON NIGERIA LIMITED in particular. LIMITATION OF THE STUDY Generally, in any meaningful project work of this nature, some difficulties are likely to come up. Such difficulties include: TIME FACTOR: Time factor is a major problem because as an undergraduate student, there is little or no time to allocate to a greater work as the available time is shared between this study and other subject course study. FINANCE: Research project is quite expensive. Preparing the research instrument, moving about to gather the data, administering the research instrument, compiling, validating, writing, typesetting and printing the report cost a lot of money. For an undergraduate, the fund may not really flow as much as needed. HUMAN FACTOR: All efforts would be made towards ensuring error free findings. However, absence of errors is not totally guaranteed as all human are prone to mistakes. DATA GATHERING: Eliciting of data from the stakeholders might also be like a camel trying to pass through the eye of a needle in the sense of inaccessibility and unwillingness of executives and other respondents in providing data information for the purpose. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY The significance of this study includes: The study will assist organizational control by ensuring efficient initialization of human resource. It will also be of assistance in formulation of acceptable and objective performance appraisal. It will also assist in areas such as staff promotion or advancement as well as demotion. Performance appraisal helps to maintain records in order to determine compensation packages, wage structure, salaries raises. It helps to identify the strengths and weaknesses of employees to place right men on the right job. It helps to maintain and assess the potential present in a person for further growth and development. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY This section of the research proposal will examine, research design, research population and sample, data collection method and procedures for data analysis. RESEARCH DESIGN The survey research methods would be used in this study and a case study of CHEVRON NIGERIA LIMITED would be undertaken. POPULATION OF THE STUDY The population of the study would be made up of the entire staff of CHEVRON NIGERIA LIMITED located at 2, Chevron drive, Lekki Peninsula, Lagos, Nigeria. RESEARCH SAMPLE After the sampling size has been determined, simple random sampling techniques would be utilized in coding the sample. The reason for using the simple random sample is precisely to give each individual in the population equal chances of being included in the sample and to make it possible to every sectional group of individual to be represented. DATA COLLECTED METHOD Both primary and secondary sources of data collection method would be adopted in gathering data relevant information on this study. The primary sources will consist of a well-structured questionnaire to be administered to the respondents within three levels of management (i.e. top, middle and lower management) of CHEVRON NIGERIA LIMITED. The secondary data would be collected from the texts, journals, newspapers, seminar papers, magazines, employee’s performance reports from the personnel departments of CHEVRON NIGERIA LIMITED and other literature on performance appraisal as an  instrument for effective human resource management the usefulness of financial ratio analysis. DATA ANALYSIS METHOD The analysis of the data to be obtained would be done by the use Chi-Square methods of statistical analysis. The spearman’s rank approach ÃŽ §2 = [ (O – E)2] E E= Expected value O= Observe value ÃŽ §2= Chi-Square DEFINITION OF TERMS Appraisal: A method of assessing and grading employees for the purpose of promotion, commendation/development and salary increase. Performance: It refers to the output or personal contribution of an employee to the overall goals and objectives of an organization. A high performance may yield positive appraisal and vice versa. Employee: It refers to the workforce of every organization or firm Human Resource Management: It is a term that can notes the management of human being and raw material of an organization. The blending of both is crucial if the object of an organization is to be realized. Organization: It is the entity where economic activities take place. It could be formal or informal. Organizations strive to harness its human and material resources in order to achieve its goals. REFERENCES Obisi, C. (1996). Personnel Management: lakbod enterprise, Ibadan. Leena. T and Twinkle. P. (2012). From Performance Appraisal to Performance Management. IOSR Journal of Business and Management, Volume 3, Issue 5. 01- 06. Kofi, O. A., and Vincent, P.K. (2012). Performance Appraisal As Employee Motivation Mechanism In Selected Financial Institutions In Kumasi, Ashanti Region Of Ghana. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, Vol.2 Issue 6, 22. Atiomo, A.C. (2000). Human Resource Management: Malthouse Management Science Books, Lagos. Fajana, S. (1997). Human Resources Management: Labofin and Company, Lagos. Alo, O. (1999). Human Resource Management in Nigeria: Business and Institutional Support Associates Limited, Lagos. UNIVERSITY of LAGOS Department of Business Administration Research Proposal NAME: LAWAL ADEBISI FATIMAT MATRIC NUMBER: 100203122 DEPARTMENT:BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION COURSE TITLE:RESEARCH SEMINAR COURSE CODE:FBA321 RESEARCH TOPIC PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL AS AN INSTRUMENT FOR EFFECTIVE HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (CASE STUDY OF CHEVRON)

Evaluation of a Learning Environment

Evaluation of a Learning Environment Every child has the right to be treated equally and for that to be done in a diverse setting. We can see that through the home corner this is so. The children have access to the materials in this area during their play time. There are many utensils such as a wok, chopsticks and knives and forks. This allows for cultural difference to be recognised. The child’s interests are met when they use materials that they may have used during break time for example. 1. In researching the best curriculum planning process for the home corner in my Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) setting I set out with the goal of incorporating Siolta’s Standards within my curriculum. I questioned the staff, parents and the children themselves to make sure everybody’s view was taken into consideration. Creating an appropriate environment for the children is of vital importance to ensure that the children to reach their full potential and to ensure that they reach their holistic development potential whether that be indoors or outdoors. I believe that the children should be able to move freely from each area and environment. In my ECCE setting the children can do this as there is a retracting canapà © in the area which allows for the children to play in all-weather circumstances. There are also retractable sliding doors. Standard 2 Environments: â€Å"Enriching environments, both indoor and outdoor are well maintained, safe, available, accessible, and adaptable and developmentally appropriate and off a variety of challenging and stimulating experiences.† (Donohoe and Gaynor 2011:49) Standard 6: Play â€Å"Promoting play requires that child has ample time to engage in freely available accessible, developmentally appropriate and well sourced opportunities for exploration, creativity and ‘mean making’ in the company of other children, with participating and supportive adults and alone, where appropriate.† (Donohoe and Gaynor 2011:50) These standards can only be put in place if the staff members are supportive and caring childcare professionals. 2. I carried out some research by conducting some questionnaire’s with both the parents and the staff. I also asked the children during recall time how they felt that diversity was included in their play in the home corner. As per Donohoe and Gaynor (2011:91) its states that â€Å"Pretend play provides an opportunity for children to make believe, role play and dramatize while planning, solving problems, using imagination, developing creativity and language and refining social and physical skills.† Aistear was included in the questionnaires and how it was included in the home corner. Well Being: Getting the children to make nutritional meals for themselves. For example mixing would promote the use of both gross and fine motor skills. Communication: Talking to one another about what meal’s they will make. New vocabulary. Recall. Exploring and Thinking: Take on different roles in the kitchen such as the chef. Mother making the dinner. Identity and Belonging: Gave the children a sense of been part of a team (at times.) The home corner is set out towards the back of the room in a corner. This area is spacious in size considering there are many other area’s such as the sand and water area and dress up corner. This enables the children to move freely from the kitchenette area to the table and chairs that are also in place. All of the utensils are washed and sterilised on a regular basis to ensure hygiene in particular the cups as the children tend to have these in their mouths during imaginary play. As mentioned there is a stole in place for the shorter children. This allows the children to reach come of the higher presses where some materials are located. The children have been shown how to use this piece of equipment safely by a staff member. By having a wide variety of equipment/ materials for the children to use in this area it promotes diversity and equality amongst the children. It also represents Aistear’s theme of identity and belonging. By providing such materials as chopsticks and rice for the children to use it represents some of the children. At times the children’s parents are asked to bring in something relating to the home corner that they use at home in their kitchen experience. As my setting is based on a HighScope setting I find that this is a great opportunity as it allows for the children to use these materials as part of their recall. As you can see from my research the staff member agrees with me that the positioning of the home corner is appropriate and spacious. It ensures that the child’s safety is of paramount importance ensuring that all materials are accessible. The kitchenette is firmly positioned and secured to the ground to avoid it falling over. The home corner has been made as realistic as possible. Such materials provided include real cups for the children to use and apron’s. As per the Pre-School Regulation 2006 Regulation 5 states that â€Å"A person carrying on a pre-school service shall ensure that there is sufficient furniture, play and work equipment and materials and that such furniture, equipment and materials are suitable, non-toxic, in a proper state of repair and are maintained in a clean and hygienic condition,† (dcya.gov.ie/documents) I find it good when the children dress up in the chef costumes that are located in the dress up area as they are role playing. I got a parent to fill out a questionnaire as part of my research. She mentioned that her son liked to play outdoors which is where he also likes to play in the crà ¨che. She seemed happy with the materials available to her son. Recommendations: In my opinion the utensils/ materials should be changed around according the weather. I would like to introduce a toy BBQ for the children to play with outdoors. Not only does this change the environment where the children generally play in. It allows for the children to think/explore/be imaginative by using materials outdoors. This also links with home as many parents use BBQ’s at home which the children see. By doing so it allows for different food to be used and utensils such as skewers (wooden in the crà ¨che) and tongs. This helps with their Holistic Development in the following ways: Physically: Children are standing up and moving around to gather materials out doors to put on the BBQ. Intellectually: New concepts are used such as placing imaginary food on the wooden skewers. Language: New vocabulary is gained in carrying out this activity. e.g. skewers, leaves, coal, different meats and vegetables. Social: Children use this time to build on relationships with one another by interacting with one another. Emotional: The children’s emotional needs are met e.g. happiness. I would also like for the children to be able to use the produce from the vegetable garden in their play both indoors and outdoors. This is in keeping with Siolta’s thoughts in relation to creating an enriching environment for the children to grow on a holistic level. Allow the children to move some of the kitchenette from indoors to outdoors(with adult supervision) I plan on implementing these recommendations by suggesting it during a team meeting with the room staff. Bibliography: Pre School Regulations 2006 Handbook http://www.dcya.gov.ie/documents/publications/Child_Care_Pre-_School_Services_Regs_2006.pdf {online, 17th June 2014} Donohoe, J and Gaynor, f(2011_ Education and Care 4th Edition in the Early Years Spain: Gill and MacMillian. Katie GallagherPage 1

The Paperless Office and Paperless Society Will Never Happen

The Paperless Office and the Paperless Society Will Never Happen With the widespread introduction of computer terminals into offices, and the growing popularity of the personal computer, futurists and computer proponents envisioned the arrival of the â€Å"paperless office†. They predicted that in the near future, virtually all paper consumed in offices would be replaced by electronic, computer based mediums. Office workers, who before the advent of the computer relied entirely on typewriters, paper filing systems, and printed documents, could now create, store, and share information using computers. There would be no need to print out documents, because they would be always conveniently available for view using any available computer terminal. Even libraries, which traditionally contain shelves upon shelves of printed books, could be replaced by a large collection of books in electronic form. There are several main advantages of electronically stored information, as opposed to paper-based information. Content deep within an electronic library can be found using searching algorithms, and a single item within an electronic library can be shared and accessed by a nearly unlimited number of users simultaneously, who can be located in diverse geographic locations. Another advantage of a â€Å"paperless society† is environmental in nature: a dependence on paper takes its toll on our world’s forests, which are vital to the planet in many ways, such as providing oxygen, absorbing rainwater, protecting soil, and regulating climate. I would argue, however, that this environmental advantage is somewhat stretched out of proportion by computer advocates, because the manufacture of computers requires natural resources, and there are new environm... ... Industry Key Statistics As Published by the Pulp and Paper Products Council. American Process Inc. [v] Statistics Canada CANSIM Data Base. CANSIM is an official Mark of Statistics Canada. Series: C892268, Source: SDDS 3604 DEMOGRAPHY DIVISION [vi] Statistics Canada CANSIM Data Base. Series: D10505, Source: SDDS 4432 STC (63-016XPB) [vii] Same as (4). [viii] Laser Printer History. 4 Apr. 2001. American Calco Inc. [ix] Information Technology and Structural Change of the Global Forest Sector. 28 Feb. 2003. International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis. [x] Healy, Sean. No Technofix for the Third World. 4 Oct. 2001. ZNet.

Social Justice Essay -- Liberation Theology

What is social justice and how does it relate to liberation theology? How do sin, love, grace, and human freedom affect social justice? What restricts freedom and social justice? And how does all of this play a role in the Kingdom of God? Social justice is a concept of a society in which every human being is treated justly, without discrimination based on financial status, race, gender, ethnicity, etc. Grace is a gift from God that we don’t deserve, which helps us choose the good, therefore it promotes social justice. On the other hand, sin, which can be regarded as a lack of love and care for â€Å"others,† distances us from social justice. Therefore, love and grace are essential aspects of social justice and without them there could be no social justice in the world. Liberation theologians, major supporters of social justice, have multiple elements in their beliefs that respond to major social justice issues such as: unfair distribution of wealth, goods and services; oppression of people based on gender, race, and ethnicity; and the unjustness of social structures and institutions towards the underprivileged. Lastly, the ends of God’s kingdom and the ends of social justice are one in the sa me: Humans acting out of love to serve and give everything to those less fortunate and in need. In this idea of social justice is the belief that every human is entitled to specific political, economic, social, and human rights. However, in reality many people are stripped of these rights, leaving them without power and privilege, in other words leaving them less than human. They are subject to political structures making decisions for them, which is unjust because political figures with power, acting on behalf of those without power, ... ...cial justice. Works Cited 1. Haughey, John C. The Faith That Does Justice: Examining the Christian Sources for Social Change. Broadway, New York: Paulist Press, 1977. 2. U.S. Catholic Conference. To Campaign for Justice. Washington, D.C.: The Bobbs Merrill Company, Inc., 1982 3. Gutierrez, Gustavo. A Theology of Liberation. Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 1971. 4. Cory, Catherine. Landry, David. â€Å"Augustine of Hippo.† The Christian Theological Tradition: Second Edition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2003. 5. Boff, Leonardo. â€Å"On Development and Theology.† Introducing Liberation Theology. Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 1986 6. Dazet, Paul. Love Wins: God Hears the Cries of the Oppressed. January 15, 2008. 7. Wolff, Edward. â€Å"The Wealth Divide: The Growing Gap in the United States between the Rich and the Rest.†

Technology Infrastructures for Healthcare Access to Rural Residents Ess

Given the recent passage of the heath care bill, and complicated language within the bill it is unclear if electronic health records (EHR) systems will be mandatory. Nonetheless, research indicates that electronic Health Records improve patient safety and satisfaction. However, the implementation cost of this process is significant. Memorial Hospital in Wyoming, a 99 bed hospital, implemented a full electronic medical records system in 18 months at a cost of $2 million dollars. Memorial Hospital did have a successful implementation and was able to stay within budget and on-time (â€Å"Lessons Learned†, 2009). Research indicates that initial cost of EHR systems is $44,000 per full-time employee (FTE) with the ongoing maintenance cost of $8500 per FTE (Miller, West, Broem, Ganchoff, 2005). Given the significant cost it is very important that the culture of the organization is ready for the transformation from paper to electronic. Creating an implementation strategy will help en sure the project stays on time and budget. Health information technology (health IT) enables healthcare providers to improve patient care by secure use while sharing health information with others as authorized by the patient. The use of electronic health records (EHRs) constitutes Health IT as opposed to paper medical records to retain people's health information (US Dept of Health, 2010). In addition, Health IT allows a secure exchange between healthcare providers and consumers in the management of healthcare information. It is hoped that Health IT will both improve patient care and our nation’s healthcare system. There are two classifications of electronic health record systems. First, products such as Microsoft Vault and Google Health, allow an individual pe... ...urthermore, rural Americans have a much higher rate of obesity compared to the urban population. In fact, the obesity crisis in rural American has surfaced since 1980. Prior to 1980, the rural population had a much lower rate of obesity than the urban population (Tai-Seale and Chandler, 2003). In addition, if the baby boomers follow past life-cycle age related migration patterns to rural areas, 30 percent more adult age 55-75 will live in rural areas by 2020 (Cromartie and Nelson, 2009). The graph below illustrates the recent and projected nonmetro population change among 55-74 year olds in the Midwest. While data was available for all five U.S. regions, the researcher’s focused on the Midwest as this research was conducted in the Midwest (Source:USDA, Economic Research Service using data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Center for Health Statistics).

New York Times Essay

The newspaper serves as the first draft of history and is the most important source of primary documents in which historians use in order to better gauge exactly what were the concerns and motivations of a specific age. In 1900, America was celebrating a new century although there was little to celebrate. The Boar War in South Africa was taking far too long and costing far too many money and lives in what was perceived to be an invincible British Empire. A massive explosion in West Virginia killed dozens of miners and in China, the Boxer Rebellion; a Chinese nationalistic movement in which all foreigners were sought after and either expelled from the country or killed, was causing international headaches for America and President McKinley. The December 24, 1900 issue of the New York Times, the most prestigious newspaper in the country, detailed many of the aforementioned events as well as the smaller stories which never did make the history books but were vitally important for those who were involved. As 1900 was coming to a close and moving into what would be the bloodiest century in human history, the readers of that day, saw a world with no shortage of pessimistic news and depressing facts about the state of their world. In the backdrop of the Christmas season, the concern of the people of New York, as detailed in this issue of the New York Times, were detailing the hatred and strife which much of the world, and especially New York City had, in the day before Christmas.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The most important international issue of this day was the Boar War.   America would remain neutral in this war but with British soldiers deep in the heart of South Africa and fighting a war, the details commanded a position on the front page. The headline in the top left corner of page 1, â€Å"Boars Take British town,† detailed the pursuits of the British army in relation to the Boar War, which was ending its second year with no sign of victory. The war would continue from 1899-1902 and cost more lives and money than would ever have been conceived and historians marked this as the beginning of the end of the British Empire.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There were other important issues of the day. One issue which the people of New York were talking about that day was the firing of District Attorney Garnier by then governor Theodore Roosevelt. This story was seen on page 1 of the Times as well as a detailed editorial on page 6 of the paper. Theodore Roosevelt was seen as a free thinking Progressive Reformer who had no use for patronage, nor public opinion dictating his actions. He was one of the most unique Presidents this country ever had served in the White House. These aspects came through when Governor Roosevelt, under the idea that Garnier: â€Å"that he did not acknowledge the telegram of the governor directing attention to these officers†¦ and allowed his assets to interfere with the prompt trial of election cases.†[1] In other words, Garnier’s association with Tammany, the political force of the Democratic Party in which graft and patronage ran rampant, could not be separated from the demands of this office. In the election of 1900, it was asserted that Garnier had done little or nothing to stop the election tampering which the Republicans asserted had occurred. Governor Roosevelt believed this to be the case and promptly fired Garnier.   The New York Times, in their editorial, criticized this move, through the professed to be no friend of Garnier. â€Å"We think that the people’s rights and not Garnier’s are infringed by the action of Governor Roosevelt and are forced to condemn that action as a blunder in the nature of a crime.†[2] Tammany, since the days of Boss William Tweed, had been under a suspicion of grafting politicians and Roosevelt, always the reformer, sought to free New York City from the patronage which he felt was choking the lifeblood from the city. Tammany had been a source of patronage for decades and it sometimes served as the only source of employment for immigrants who were being ignored by the establishment. However, Tammany always ran under a cloud of suspicion for corruption and the reform candidates of that age, sought to starve Tammany of patronage. It is also interesting to note that since Governor Roosevelt was causing so much trouble, for both the Democrats as well as the Republicans, that he was placed on the Republican ticket as President McKinley’s Vice President in 1900 only a few months earlier as a way to silence him. Little did they know that the assassination of President McKinley in September 1901, propel Roosevelt onto the world political stage for the next 7  ½ years.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The newspaper also details the stories which never did make the history books. There are many one or two paragraph stories which served as life changing for those involved but which were quickly forgotten in a day or two by the rest of the public. One such story is of five year old Marie Horen who went into convulsions when she drank a bottle of whiskey as she copied what she had seen her father doing. She was rushed to the J. Hood Wright Hospital where her condition was deemed serious. Another story involves nine year old Nathan Roth who was shot in the head by one who the paper deemed crazy. He was shot in the head and the bullet exited the right eye of the boy. The boy was pronounced dead and the defendant, John Galletus, a father of three and one who had attempted to shoot others, was captured and sent away.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another negative aspect of this day in New York History was the number of fires that were reported. There was listed, sixteen fires that had occurred. One of these fires ripped through a tenement in which it was reported that there presumed to be, a number of victims but as the records of those living in these tenements were sketchy at best, it seems as though the exact count will never be known. It has been suspected that a number of these fires, especially the ones in which barns were being set ablaze, was suspected of being done by a group of sixteen years from the many notorious gangs which New York City housed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It was also reported that Andrew Carnegie, the steel magnate, one who had originated from Scotland and had made his fortunes in steel, donated $20,000 for the assembly of a new library at the all black Tuskegee School in which Booker T. Washington founded and led. During these last years of his life, Carnegie sought o give away millions of dollars in the construction of libraries all across the country; from the large cities in America, to the small towns. He had earned his money through the ruthless exploitation of capitalism and now sought to right his wrongs and become a philanthropist and give money to support a new school at Tuskegee. This occurred at a time when only four years later, calls of treason arose from the South when President Roosevelt invited Booker T. Washington, a leader in the African American community to lunch in order to discuss the issues of the day concerning African Americans. It was reported that the entire building would be built from the hard work of the students themselves; a practice which had been adhered to when the school was first built. This speaks to the social culture of the day and is in contrast to the arrest of Ed. Johnson, a â€Å"dark† man who was suspected of kidnapping a woman. The story states, on page 1, that Mr. Johnson had been identified by a child witness as not having been the suspect but which did little to dissuade the authorities to immediately free Mr. Johnson.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Since this issue was dated Christmas Eve, there is also a religious aspect to this day as millions of Christians in the city were set to celebrate the birth of Jesus. This aspect of loving one’s neighbor which is seen more often around Christmas time than any other, was seen in a large advertisement which detailed the Salvation Army’s feeding of the poor as well as the performance of a passion play. These plays were designed to detail the last hours of Jesus before he was hung on the cross. These plays have served as a popular and touching aspect of the Christmas Season but which have become more popular during the Easter season. In this spirit of alms giving, the New York Protestant Episcopal Society was also feeding Christmas dinner to the poor. However, with New York City containing a large Jewish population, it was stated by the prominent rabbis of the city, that the Jewish people can enjoy this Christmas season, the joy and fulfillment which their fellow New Yorkers are experiencing this Christmas season but that Jews should be careful not to blend their appreciation for the enjoyment of others, with their own sense of faith, which it was stated, â€Å"has fundamental and final differences between Judaism and Christianity.†[3]   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   1900 was an important and event-packed year. Reading the newspapers, specifically the New York Times, serves as a reminder that ever day, there occurs events, large and small, important and socially irrelevant, that occur every day and which are important to the people it affects. In a city as large as New York City, there still occurs individual interest stories like the death of nine year old Nathan Roth or the case of five year old Maggie Enloin who went into convulsions after drinking a bottle of whiskey after seeing her father do the same. These stories occur every day, in every part of the country, as well as the world. Many times, they are not reported but in this day, December 24, 1900, the editors of The New York Times, felt that the tragic death of a nine year old to street violence, or the burnings of tenements on the Lower East Side, as well as the involvements of the Boxer Rebellion, the Boar War or the issues of patronage and corruption within the Tammany machine, all fell under the definition: â€Å"All the news that is fit to print.† This day in American History as well as New York History, saw a wide array of human interest stories, coupled with heavy issues and the larger questions of: â€Å"What role will political patronage serve in the city and how much damage can Governor Roosevelt make before he assumes the Vice Presidency? Are the problems of the tenements to only being reported or sill any actions are made to help the poor and to help them rise above their circumstance? Can the deaths of innocent children be reconciled in a city who believes that it is on the cutting edge of the country’s reforms? Also, to what degree, if any, will America get involved in the issues overseas such as the Boar War and the Boxer Rebellion and how their outcomes will affect America’s relations with these countries. The December 24, 1900 issue of the New York Times, had contained within its twelve pages, a wide array of stories from all walks of life and on all levels of importance. Many of the above mentioned people are to be remembered, when they are remembered at all, in the pages of the newspaper: the first draft of history. WORKS CITED The New York Times.   December 24, 1900 (Twelve Pages) [1] Governor Roosevelt’s Error The New York Times.   December 24, 1900 pg. 6 [2] Governor Roosevelt’s Error. The New York Times.   December 24, 1900 pg. 6 [3] The New York Times.   December 24, 1900

Identity and Belonging

38 A Postcolonial study of Identity Crisis in Mohsin Hamid’s the Reluctant Fundamentalist Daryoosh Hayati Islamic Azad University, Iran Abstract: This essay will present a postcolonial study of Mohsin Hamid’s the Reluctant Fundamentalist. The basis for this research paper is the postcolonial theories of Edward Said, Fanon and Homi Bhabba. The aim is to question simply and sardonically the human cost of empire building, moreover it is discussed how the people in a totally alien culture are faced with different cultural predicaments, dilemmas as well as contradictions threatening their identity.Identity is supposed to be stable, while as this novel indicates, it is at risk due to the cultural conflicts as a result of which identity and ethnicity are subjected to change for the benefit of the hegemony. In line with Edward Said’s: â€Å" the East writes back† it is shown how this novel is a reaction to the discourse of colonization and welcomes de-colonization . Moreover it reflects the laments of the author for the terrorist label attributed to Muslims, in terms of globalization, supported by the hegemony and interpreted as essentialism.Key words: globalization, identity, postcolonial, binary oppositions, otherness, hegemony, hybridity and ethnicity. BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue – II. ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services 39 Introduction: Post colonialism deals with the aftermath of colonialism. It is about the painstaking struggle of being independent. The society is no longer being oppressed; they are independent, free to be themselves again.However they’ve changed, their culture has changed now they need to figure out who they really are. In other words they are faced with identity related choices. Ex-colonies are to choose either to make an attempt to restore the original culture, or conform to the existing c olonizers’ culture or the creation of a new culture which combines both. In other words such nations are encountered by difficult decisions to make. Either to assimilate or dissimilate is the existential condition ex-colonies are exposed to. Such a question faces the ex-colonies with an unresolved predicament.The assimilation and adaptation of cultural practices, the cross-fertilization of cultures, can be seen as positive, enriching, and dynamic, as well as oppressive. â€Å"Hybridity† is also a useful concept for helping to break down the false sense that colonized cultures — or colonizing cultures for that matter — are monolithic, or have essential, unchanging features. The growth of â€Å"hybridity†Ã¢â‚¬â€the dissolution of rigid cultural boundaries between groups hitherto perceived as separate, the intermixture of various identities, in effect the dissolution of identities themselves.Much anthropology in this field demonstrates how identities have been and are invented, reinvented and shaped for political and other purposes, out of disparate historical and cultural experiences. Other studies have repeatedly shown that identities are driven with contradictions and are not to be understood as seamlessly unified comprehensive cultural entities, therefore impossible to go back to the original one. BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II.Issue – II. ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services 40 Identities owe their formation and position in society to the operation of social, economic, cultural, and political forces that are inseparable from the forces that create and maintain socioeconomic groups. In this view, rather than being opposed, identity politics and class politics, while distinct, have the potential to be allied actors in a common political process.The three most influential theorists whose ideas regarding the causes o f the oriental identity being changed include: Fanon, Bhabha and Edward Said according to whom: ‘The Orient was almost a European invention, and had been since antiquity a place or romance, exotic beings, haunting memories and landscapes, remarkable experiences †¦ The Orient is nor only adjacent to Europe; it is also the place of Europe’s greatest and richest and oldest colonies, the source of its civilizations and languages, its cultural contestant, and one of its deepest and most recurring images of the Other.In addition, the Orient has helped to define Europe (or the West) as its contrasting image, idea, personality, experience. Yet none of this Orient is merely imaginative. The Orient is an integral part of European material civilization and culture. Orientalism expresses and represents that part culturally and even ideologically as a mode of discourse with supporting institutions, vocabulary, scholarship, imagery, doctrines, even colonial bureaucracies and col onial styles’†¦. ideas, cultures, and histories cannot seriously be understood or studied without their force, or more precisely their configurations of power, also being studied. To believe that the Orient was created – or, as I call it, â€Å"Orientalised† – and to BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue – II. ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services 41 believe that such things happen simply as a necessity of the imagination, is to be disingenuous. The relationship between Occident and Orient is a relationship of power, of domination, of varying degrees of a complex hegemony’. Said, pp 30-35 and 60) Frantz Fanon stands as the second outstanding critic in the field whose ideas, together with those of Bhabha and Said provide a strong basis for the study of cultural influences in the field: ‘This cultural obliteration is made possible by the negation of national reality, by the new legal relations introduced by the occupying power, by the banishment of the natives and their customs to outlying districts by colonial society, by expropriation, and by the systematic enslaving of men and women †¦ Every effort is made to bring the colonized person to admit the inferiority of his culture which has been transformed into instinctive patterns of behaviour, to recognize the unreality of his â€Å"nation,† and, in the last extreme, the confused and imperfect character of his own biological structure. ’( Fanon, p. 58) Last but not the least, attention must be directed toward the theories Homi K. Bhabha known as Hybridity and the â€Å"Third Space†: ‘It is that Third Space, though unrepresentable in itself, which constitutes the discursive conditions of nunciation that ensure that the meaning and symbols of BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue â₠¬â€œ II. ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services 42 culture have no primordial unity or fixity; that even the same signs can and be read appropriated, anew’†¦. ‘The translated, Western rehistoricized metropole must confront its postcolonial history, told by its influx of postwar migrants and refugees, as an indigenous or native narrative internal to its national identity; â€Å"The trouble with the English is that their hiss hiss history happened overseas, so they dodo don’t know what it means’. Bhabha, p, 15) Discussion: The reluctant fundamentalist is in line with the above mentioned views. The Reluctant Fundamentalist immediately de-stabilizes the â€Å"gaze† of the West upon the Islamic World. The novel’s opening sees Changez immigrating to the United States, attending Princeton, and receiving a high-stakes and much coveted entry-level position in a New York City business cons ulting firm, Underwood Samson. It would seem that he is the living embodiment of the American Dream, having toiled endless hours for these opportunities and possessing a bright, unbounded future. However, after the terrorist attacks on 9/11, his attitude toward the United States changes, especially as he becomes the target of racism and enhanced surveillance.By the conclusion, one is unsure whether or not this conversation partner is actually a CIA assassin dispatched to Pakistan to terminate Changez. Changez, constructed as a â€Å"modern† Muslim immigrant and anti-hero, sees fit to challenge the reductive lens that casts all Muslims as religious fanatics and backwards zealots. BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue – II. ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services 43 The novel ultimately poses the interesting stance that neo-liberalism exists as its own form of fundamenta lism; the West’s utter devotion to the precepts of a laissez-faire economic policy has generated a totalizing view of the globe as a terrain to be mined and exploited.Those who do not follow this mantra can necessarily be considered a â€Å"threat,† and in this novel’s case, very much a terrorist threat. This intervention places into relief the ways in which the West might not necessarily view its own economic activities critically enough. Underwood Samson, in Changez’s view, is the clear example of the soullessness of the West. The company does not generate a purchasable product, but is yet extremely sought after for its ability to â€Å"evaluate† other companies. That is, their job epitomizes capitalism to its very core through the ability to place â€Å"value† on objects, structures, bodies or processes. Where Changez finds root is in a Pakistani culture that does not subscribe to this same system of â€Å"beliefs. Although Changezâ€⠄¢s Underwood Samson advisor, Jim, appeals to him through the sentiment that Underwood Samson cannot be conflated with American economic policies at large, the novel concludes with Changez retreating into the confines of nationalisms and discrete boundary points. For him, Underwood Samson merely operates as an appendage of American â€Å"fundamentalism,† one that must be combated through Pakistani economic independence. The Reluctant Fundamentalist is the story of a man who is surprised by the intensity of his reactions when he perceives a threat to his cultural identity. â€Å"Beware the Dark Side, young Skywalker,† a colleague tells Changez at the induction party.This is said in jest, but the Star Wars legend of a youngster who betrays his own kind for an evil Empire, in the process losing his soul and turning into a mechanical man, will uncomfortably resonate with Changez’s own integration into American life. Later in the narrative, he will BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue – II. ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services 44 hear about the Janissaries, â€Å"the Christian boys who were captured and trained to be soldiers in a Muslim army, at that time the greatest army in the world†¦they had fought to erase their own civilizations, so they had nothing else to turn to†.These analogies will tap into his deep-rooted fears: the fear of contributing to the wealth-generation of the most powerful empire in the world even while his own country languishes in poverty and he feels like a stranger on each successive visit to Lahore. The fear of a shrinking â€Å"global world† where â€Å"global† is defined in terms of the US model. The fear of becoming, inadvertently, a foot-soldier in America’s march of progress, as a result his identity resembles that of Janissaries. And yet this young man, who would certa inly at some point have thought of himself as a citizen of the world, unconfined by narrow domestic walls, slowly becomes defensive about his identity.Early on, he has already been discomfited by little things: watching his colleagues part with large sums of money, for instance, reminds him of the poverty in his country, and on a business trip to Manila he is mortified to discover that even this (Eastern) city is so much wealthier than Lahore: I felt like a distance runner who thinks he is not doing too badly until he glances over his shoulder and sees that the fellow who is lapping him is not the leader of the pack but one of the laggards. (p. 176) But after the 9/11 attacks and the racial profiling that accompanies it, he becomes ever more conscious of the need to define himself, and this leads to disaffection with his adopted country. Changez’s dilemmas are complicated by his feelings for a girl named Erica, a fellow Princetonian; they become close but she is haunted by he rBARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue – II. ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services 45 memories of a deceased boyfriend, and an awkward lovemaking scene shows us that Changez’s relationship with her mirrors his relationship with the US – he can possess her only by pretending to be someone he is not, by relinquishing his own sense of self. And though the book ends on an ambiguous note, refusing to divulge the extent to which Changez has traded one fundamentalism for another, we understand how an unbridgeable divide, an atmosphere of mutual distrust, can be created between cultures.In other words, Bhabha argues that cultural identities cannot be ascribed to pre-given, irreducible, scripted, a historical cultural traits that define the conventions of ethnicity. Nor can â€Å"colonizer† and â€Å"colonized† be viewed as separate entities that define t hemselves independently. Instead, Bhabha suggests that the negotiation of cultural identity involves the continual interface and exchange of cultural performances that in turn produce a mutual and mutable recognition (or representation) of cultural difference. As Bhabha argues, this â€Å"liminal† space is a â€Å"hybrid† site that witnesses the production–rather than just the reflection–of cultural meaning:The novel’s central point is the pride of the American empire which is built on the guts of finance: â€Å"Finance was a primary means by which the American empire exercised its power. † A mirror, reflecting the mutual suspicion with which America and Pakistan (or the Muslim world) look at one another. â€Å"Excuse me, sir, but may I be of assistance? Ah, I see I have alarmed you. Do not be frightened by my beard: I am a lover of America. † So begins Changez’s monologue that charts the rise and fall of this man, from Princet on University, to employment in a prestigious firm, his love for BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue – II.ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services 46 a fellow New Yorker named Erica, to the increasing suspicion he feels after the destruction of the World Trade Centre, and the escalating conflict in his home country of Pakistan, which he watches from across the Atlantic, powerless to help. What distinguishes The Reluctant Fundamentalist is its monologue form. Changez is relating his tale to an American who may or may not be CIA and Changez may or may not be a terrorist. The duality that this text invokes is mirrored through the possibly radicalisation Changez undergoes and the loss of mind that befalls Erica.At the end of this superbly powerful narrative every character is left hanging off metaphorical and literal cliffs (or having gone over them) that one is reminded that th is is simply not a story of a rise and fall, but is concerned with events that happened after the fall, for falling is only but the beginning of one story. The study of identity is in most cases associated with considering the changes in circumstances or a one's personality. Colonies go through many changes throughout their existence. When looking at pre-colonialism, one sees the area’s original culture. Their beliefs and customs run smoothly in a functioning society. Colonialism changes everything.In almost all cases of colonialism, the norms, beliefs and cultural values of the larger power are forced upon all of the colonies natives. This is because the colonizer believes that the natives are â€Å"savages† and need to be civilized. The natives have no choice but to accept these new ways of life. The settlers' technology is more advanced and they could easily wipe out all natives who refuse to conform to the new culture. This is where the depletion of their culture b egins. Natives stop practicing their religion. In most cases they convert to Christianity, mainly because it is forced onto them. In order to communicate BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue – II. ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services 47 ith the colonizers or the settlers, they start speaking the settlers' language. Soon enough their own is lost. After so many years of colonialism, the natives become similar to their colonizers. The colonizers control education, therefore they control the thoughts and ideas absorbed by the youth. Natives' children absorb the new culture and ideas at a young age. Because of this, the original culture is lost in new generations. The colonizer is a brute force which oppresses the natives. In the fight of this oppression, independence is fought for and a culture that has almost been forgotten is once again sought after. What is left of the ori ginal culture?The representation of these uneven and often hybrid, polyglot, multivalent cultural sites (reclaimed or discovered colonized cultures searching for identity and meaning in a complex and partially alien past) may not look very much like the representations of bourgeois culture in western art, ideologically shaped as western art is to represent its own truths (that is, guiding fictions) about itself. To quote Homi Bhabha on the complex issue of representation and meaning from his article in Greenblatt and Gun's Redrawing the Boundaries: Culture as a strategy of survival is both transnational and translational. It is transnational because contemporary ostcolonial discourses are rooted in specific histories of cultural displacement, whether they are the middle passage of slaver and indenture, the voyage out of the civilizing mission, the fraught accommodation of Third World migration to the West after the Second World War, or the traffic of economic and political refugees within and outside the Third World. BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue – II. ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services 48 Culture is translational because such spatial histories of displacement — now accompanied by the territorial ambitions of global media technologies — make the question of how culture signifies, or what is signified by culture, a rather complex issue.It becomes crucial to distinguish between the semblance and similitude of the symbols across diverse cultural experiences -literature, art, music, ritual, life, death — and the social specificity of each of these productions of meaning as they circulate as signs within specific contextual locations and social systems of value. The transnational dimension of cultural transformation — migration, diaspora, displacement, relocation – makes the process of cultural translation a co mplex form of signification. the natural(ized), unifying discourse of nation , peoples , or authentic folk tradition, those embedded myths of cultures particularity, cannot be readily referenced. The great, though unsettling, advantage of this position is that it makes you increasingly aware of the construction of culture and the invention of tradition. (P. 178)In as much as Changez can see that the United States turns to a reductive patriotism in the light of the â€Å"age of terror,† his equally resistant and myopic gaze constrains him into a perspective where the very few American individuals can be seen beyond their economic ferocity or racist jingoism. In addition, Changez’s Pakistani nationalism seems to subvert any possibility for a larger Third World sensibility that he had espoused earlier in the novel. Whereas Pakistan and Afghanistan are both likened to victims BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue – II. IS SN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services 49 in America’s â€Å"war on terror,† it seems particularly problematic that Changez does not expand his scope to include the various other â€Å"Third World† nations that have been targeted by America’s economic or military fundamentalisms.By introducing these, Hamid seems to suggest that Changez’s story acts as its own polemic toward the ways that the West can produce the so-called â€Å"terrorist† through and by false oppositions that construct the unequivocal Muslim or Arab as outsider to the nation. The novel imagines the possibility that fundamentalism has many guises, both religiously grounded and secular. The questions it thus provokes are inherently some of the most valuable elements to the current issues related to international security. Regarding the â€Å"war on terror,† Jean Baudrillard has written, â€Å"It is therefore a cla sh neither of civilizations nor of religions, and this goes far beyond Islam and America, upon which one attempts to focus the conflict in order to give oneself the illusion of a visible confrontation, and solution, by the use of force† (406). Baudrillard disrupts the binary that Changez seems most ervent to posit and in doing so, perhaps unveils a different root source for an existing conflict: But the fourth world war is elsewhere. It is what haunts all world order, all hegemonic domination. If Islam dominated the world, terrorism would rise against Islam. It is the very world itself that resists globalization (407). Born in Pakistan, educated at Princeton and currently the hottest new employee at a New York firm specialising in ruthless appraisals of ailing BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue – II. ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services 50 companies being targeted for takeover, Changez recognises himself in the description. I was a modern-day janissary,† he observes, â€Å"a servant of the American empire at a time when it was invading a country with a kinship to mine †¦ † The recognition ( empire is doomed to failure, as the world itself is against hegemony) completes a process of inward transformation that began when he realised he was half-gladdened by the World Trade Center attacks, and it now prompts him to sabotage his own high-flying career, to give up his pursuit of the beautiful, troubled Wasp princess Erica and go back to Lahore. There, bearded and generally re-acculturated, he meets an American in a restaurant in the Old Anarkali district, and buttonholes him with his life story.The novel is his monologue: a quietly told, cleverly constructed fable of infatuation and disenchantment with America, set on the treacherous faultiness of current binary East/West relations, and finely tuned to the ironies of mutual but especially American prejudice and misrepresentation. The richest instance of the latter is in the way it plays with the idea of fundamentalism itself. From the title, and from the increasingly tense atmosphere arising between Changez and his American listener, the expectation is that Changez is moving towards the revelation that he has gone, however â€Å"reluctantly†, all the way over to the dark side of Islamic fundamentalism, and is possibly, even as he speaks, rchestrating some Daniel Pearl-like execution of his perhaps literally captive audience. But in a neat – arguably too neat – reversal, it transpires that the real fundamentalism at issue here is that of US capitalism, specifically that practised by Changez's former employer, Underwood Samson, whose motto, as they do BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue – II. ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Servi ces 51 their pitiless bit for globalisation, is â€Å"Focus on the fundamentals†. The subverted expectation very efficiently forces one to reconsider one's preconceptions about such words and their meanings, and a point is duly scored for relativism.Changez pithily summarises, for instance, the experience of every happy Manhattan transplant when he declares: â€Å"I was, in four and a half years, never an American; I was immediately a New Yorker. † And his figure for that city in its ominously flag-bedecked state following the 9/11 attacks – â€Å"I wondered what manner of host would sally forth from so grand a castle† – is perfect both as a visual image and as a deepening of the book's running theme in which the triumphalist militarism of the US is repeatedly mapped over the ruined glory of the old Mughal empire. To be fair, the allegory isn't as glibly intrusive as that makes it sound, but it has a stiffening effect on the narrative, shifting it from the dramatic to the essayistic.It's no great surprise to hear Changez drop his sinuously selfdeprecating manner towards the end, in favour of something more fingerwaggingly polemical: I had always resented the manner in which America conducted itself in the world; your country's constant interference in the affairs of others was insufferable. Vietnam, Korea, the straits of Taiwan †¦ (p. 179) BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue – II. ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services 52 Assimilation is another aspect of Changeez’s identity, but as earlier discussed his identity is subjected to inevitable dichotomies.In fact assimilation is a process that presupposes contradictions. But surely it is the gist that matters; I am, after all, telling you a history, and in history, as I suspect you – an American – will agree, it is the thrust of one’s na rrative that counts, not the accuracy of one’s details. (p. 118) When Changez talks of his attempt to assimilate, the reader is struck by the dishonesty of that attempt: I attempted to act and speak, as much as my dignity would permit, more like an American. The Filipinos we worked with seemed to look up to my American colleagues, accepting them almost instinctively as members of the officer class of global business-and I wanted my share of that respect as well. (p. 5) Later, Changez seems to recognize, for the first time, how ineffectual his efforts are: Then one of my colleagues asked me a question, and when I turned to answer him, something rather strange took place. I looked at him – at his fair hair and light eyes and, most of all, his oblivious immersion in the minutiae of our work – and thought, you are so foreign. (p. 67) The book is about Changez's change or realization, which transforms him from an American financial analyst from Princeton to an indivi dual BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue – II. ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services 53 reintroduced to his cultural identity and family.The book begins when Changez accepts a job at a valuation firm and begins a relationship with an American girl named Erica. During the story, 9-11 occurs and the IndianPakistani conflict arises. Changez sees America's global role as one of selfinterest and he feels as though he is leaving behind his natural culture and identity. The Reluctant Fundamentalist does not delve into religious fundamentalism much at all, nor does it go into any detail about criticism of the foreign policy of the United States. It focuses around Changez inner struggle, his relationship with Erica, his relationship with his work, and his continuing desire for resolution in his sense of identity.After all, it seemed to be one of the several Post-September11 novels on the themes of immigrant identity and allegiance in the context of America’s changing international relations. In addition to Changez, another haunting character in the novel is Erica, Changez’s frail American girl friend. A typical privileged American girl, Erica is different in that she has suffered a tragedy and is unable to pull herself out of it enough to let Changez in her life. Again, Erica remains somewhat of an unbelievable character until you suddenly realize that the author probably meant Erica as an allegorical representation for America ‘(I) Am Erica’ and then it all falls into place. America, caught up in its own past and struggling with its own nostalgia, is unable to accept Changez.This prompts a deepening examination of his identity, his allegiances, and his relationship with America. Parallels are implied between Muslim countries and the doomed employees of the companies Changez evaluates. The key here is not religion, but corporate ca pitalism and traumatic BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue – II. ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services 54 economic change. Changez’s boss Jim says, â€Å"We came from places that were wasting away. † He means, on the one hand, Pakistan, and on the other, old industrial America. There’s plenty of on-target comment about American reaction to September 11th.Like this: I had always thought of America as a nation that looked forward; for the first time I was struck by its determination to look back. Living in New York was suddenly like living in a film about the Second World War; I, a foreigner, found myself staring out at a set that ought to be viewed not in Technicolour but in grainy black and white. What your fellow countrymen longed for was unclear to me – a time of unquestioned dominance? of safety? of moral certainty? I did not know – b ut that they were scrambling to don the costumes of another era was apparent. I felt treacherous for wondering whether that era was fictitious, and whether – if it could indeed be animated – it contained a part written for someone like me (p. 68).The attack on the empire makes Changez aware of America as an empire, responsible for his identity crisis. The final straw for him is when he hears someone describing the Janissaries, the Christian slaves taken as boys from their parents by the Ottoman Empire and turned into an elite warrior class to defend the sultan. Is Changez a latter-day reversed Janissary? In an effective subplot, Changez has a girlfriend who is obsessed by the memory of her dead boyfriend. In her depression, â€Å"She glowed with BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue – II. ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services 55 something not unlike the fervo ur of the devout. †(p. 6) Themes of nostalgia and commingled, confused identities seep into other parts of the novel, where they are relevant to Changez, Pakistan, and the United States. Several other parts of the novel discuss the causes of his hybrid identity as well as his contradictory actions and reactions to the Western culture. The following points of the novel reveal Changez’ multiple identities, proving him neither belonging to the East, nor to the West: Changez’ irritation with the cultural insensitivity in the United States is one of the cases in which his identity is challenged. Changez holidays in Greece with a group of Princetonians, where he first becomes enamored with Erica.He describes behavior he observed which irritated him: The ease with which they parted with money†¦thinking nothing of the occasional – but not altogether infrequent – meal costing perhaps fifty dollars a head. Or their self-righteousness in dealing with thos e whom they had paid for a service. â€Å"But you told us,† they would say to Greeks twice their age, before insisting things be done their way. I, with my finite and depleting reserve of cash and my traditional sense of deference to one’s seniors, found myself wondering by what quirk of human history my companions – many of whom I would have regarded as upstarts in my own country, so devoid of refinement were they – were in a position to conduct themselves in the world as though they were its ruling class. (p. 27) The disturbance Changez experienced when he compared America and Pakistan Looking down on New York from his office, over a hundred meters above, BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue – II. ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services 56 Changez realizes he is standing in a different world from Pakistan with his feet supported by â€Å"the mo st technologically advanced civilization our species had ever known. †(135) He reflects to the quiet American: Often, during my stay in your country, such comparisons troubled me. In fact, they did more than trouble me: they made me resentful.Four thousand years ago, we, the people of the Indus River basin, had cities that were laid out on grids and boasted underground sewers, while the ancestors of those who would invade and colonize America were illiterate barbarians. Now our cities were largely unplanned, unsanitary affairs, and America had universities with individual endowments greater than our national budget for education. To be reminded of this vast disparity was, for me, to be ashamed. (p. 136) Changez’ sense of humiliation at feeling the need to act like an American Changez recalls a business trip to Manila where he explains: I attempted to act and speak, as much as my dignity would permit, more like an American.The Filipinos we worked with seemed to look up t o my American colleagues, accepting them almost instinctively as members of the officer class of global business – and I wanted my share of that respect as well. BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue – II. ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services 57 So I learned to tell executives my father’s age, ‘I need it now’; I learned to cut to the front of lines with an extraterritorial smile; and I learned to answer, when asked where I was from, that I was from New York. Did these things trouble me, you ask? Certainly, sir; I was often ashamed. But outwardly I gave no sign of this. (p. 118)On this same trip he becomes particularly disoriented at receiving an openly hostile stare from the driver of a jeepney. Later when one of his American colleagues spoke to him, Changez remembers: I looked at him – at his fair hair and light eyes and, most of all, his obvious immersion in the minutiae of our work – and thought, you are so foreign. I felt in that moment much closer to the Filipino driver than to him; I felt I was play-acting when in reality I ought to be making my way home, like the people on the street outside. (p. 135) The destruction of the twin towers Changez’ sense of unease with America has already been well and truly simmering away, as the above points, all made early in the novel, make clear.This is how Changez recalls what happened as he realized what he was watching was not fiction but news: I stared as one – and then the other – of the twin towers of New York’s BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue – II. ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services 58 World Trade Center collapsed. And then I smiled. Yes, despicable as it may sound, my initial reaction was to be remarkably pleased. C hangez sees the evident disgust in the face of his American listener and notices his large hand clenching into a fist. He then hastens to assure him that he is no sociopath, who is indifferent to the suffering of others. He admits his own sense of perplexity at his sense of pleasure at the slaughter of thousands of innocents. He reflects:But at that moment, my thoughts were not with the victims of the attack – death on television moves me most when it is fictitious and happens to characters with whom I have built up relationships over multiple episodes – no, I was caught up in the symbolism of it all, the fact that someone had so visibly brought America to her knees. (p. 110) These words only serve to intensify the displeasure of his American listener Changez challenges. Moreover attention must be paid to the fact that he cannot be completely innocent of such feelings about himself. Thus, he feels no joy at the video clips of American munitions laying waste the structu res of his enemies.Changez’s experience of being treated as a possible terrorist As soon as the team was able to Manila Changez finds himself escorted by armed guards into a room where he is made to strip down to his boxer shorts. He is the last person to board the plane and recalls: BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue – II. ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services 59 I flew to New York uncomfortable in my own face: I was aware of being under suspicion; I felt guilty; I tried therefore to be as nonchalant as possible; this naturally led to my becoming stiff and self-conscious. (p. 99) Upon arriving back in New York he is again separated from his team at immigration and ends up being subjected to another inspection.His team didn’t wait for him , so he was forced to travel to Manhattan that evening â€Å"very much alone. † Changez’s anger at America ’s shrewd reflections of Muslim nations For two weeks after America began to bomb Afghanistan Changez avoids the evening news. Then one evening he chances â€Å"upon a newscast with ghostly night-vision images of American troops dropping into Afghanistan for what was described as a daring raid on a Taliban command post. † Changez recalls: My reaction caught me by surprise; Afghanistan was Pakistan’s neighbour, our friend, and a fellow Muslim nation besides, and the sight of what I took to be the beginning of its invasion by your countrymen caused me to tremble with fury. 58) Changez also bristles at the stereotypical and imperialistic manner in which American television cast Pakistanis, without any respect shown for their proud history: BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue – II. ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services 60 For we were not always burdened b y debt, dependent on foreign aid and handouts; in the stories we tell of ourselves we were not the crazed and destitute radicals you see on your television channels but rather saints and poets and – yes – conquering kings. We built the Royal Mosque and the Shalimar Gardens in this city, and we built the Lahore Fort with its mighty walls and wide ramp for our battle-elephants.And we did these things when your country was still a collection of thirteen small colonies, gnawing away at the edge of a continent. (p. 60) Changez’ growing need to assert his own identity Returning to America, following his trip back to Lahore, Changez, despite knowing the difficulties it might pose at immigration, resolves to keep his beard: It was, perhaps, a form of protest on my part, a symbol of my identity, or perhaps I sought to remind myself of the reality I had just left behind; I do not now recall my precise motivations. I know only that I did not wish to blend in with the army of clean-shaven youngsters who were my co-workers, and that inside me, for multiple reasons, I was deeply angry. 134) Back in America he finds that his beard does make him an object of verbal abuse by complete strangers and an object of suspicion in the workplace, but refuses to shave it off. BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue – II. ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services 61 Changez’ decision to distance himself from American imperialism on the plane back to New York he now realizes: I had always resented the manner in which America conducted itself in the world; your country’s constant interference in the affairs of others was insufferable. Vietnam, Korea, the straits of Taiwan, the Middle East, and now Afghanistan: in each of the major conflicts and standoffs that ringed my mother continent of Asia, America played a central role.Moreover I knew from my expe rience as a Pakistani – of alternating periods of American aid and sanctions – that finance was a primary means by which the American empire exercised its power. It was right for me to refuse to participate any longer in facilitating this project of domination; the only surprise was that I had required so much time to arrive at my decision. As a result of the discovery of the America’s true intentions and ill-natured cultural identity, he decides to distance himself from the imperialism. Moreover; he feels responsible to inform people, even the ignorant ones in America, of the true driving forces behind their policies and the US led wars and campaigns against the third world countries. Changez sees America’s post 9/11 actions as an engagement only in posturing He confronts his American listener:BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue – II. ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services 62 As a society, you were unwilling to reflect upon the shared pain that united you with those who attacked you. You retreated into myths of your own difference, assumptions of your own superiority. And you acted out these beliefs on the stage of the world, so that the entire planet was rocked by the repercussions of your tantrums, not least my family, now facing war thousands of miles away. Such an America had to be stopped in the interests not only of the rest of humanity, but also in your own.Changez becoming active in stirring up anti-America sentiment as another reflection of his identity. Now having secured a position as a university lecturer he makes it his mission on campus â€Å"to advocate a disengagement from your country by mine. † He discovers that it was not difficult to persuade his students to participate in demonstrations for greater independence in Pakistan’s domestic and international affairs. He observes that such demon strations were labeled by the foreign press as anti-American. Changez claims no inside knowledge of an alleged attempt on the part of one of his students to assassinate a coordinator of an American effort to provide development assistance to Pakistan’s rural poor.Conclusion It has been suggested that globalization is a myth and that what is actually taking place is the spread of American values, power and products across the globe. Globalization is not a myth and that far from a backlash against BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue – II. ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services 63 American hegemony, many other peoples, state and businesses are modeling themselves on America. Most people, for whom Changeez stands as an example, who examine the effects of globalization, recognize that it is having both cultural and economic impacts everywhere its forces are manifested.Wh ile no one denies the significance of economic globalization impacts, it may well be that the cultural effects of this process ultimately exert a far greater impact on the world. Skillfully, the novel has played out the fear, suspicion and hatred that now characterizes American-Muslim relations. It does this particularly by building up the tension between the quiet American and a hostile, intimidating waiter who comes from a tribe with spans both sides of the border with neighboring Pakistan. The novel will finish with this hostility being brought to an undisclosed conclusion, just as the end of the story of American-Muslim conflict remains to be written. As the book moves to this open ending, Changez comments:It seems an obvious thing to say, but you should not imagine that we Pakistanis are all potential terrorists, just as we should not imagine that you Americans are all undercover assassins. The important thing about this book is not so much whether the reader agrees with this c ritique of America or not. What this novel does show is how anti-America feeling might develop and indicates various key factors that may shape such perspectives and identities. In particular, it is crucial to avoid stereotypes that simplistically presume that anti-Americanism on the part of a Muslim must be produced by Islamic indoctrination. This novel BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue – II. ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. om/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services 64 demonstrates that it is possible for a Muslim to develop contempt for America on substantially non-religious grounds. Not long before 9/11, Changez considered New York the seat of the American empire, a civilization whose awe-inspiring achievements surpassed even the greatness of Mt. Everest. Now, Changez sees New York as separate from America, because America has taken on a new meaning. It is no longer a great, cutting-edge civilization. Wh en Changez deplanes after his flight from Valparaiso, he sees New York as an imperial city of old: â€Å"I was struck by how traditional your empire appeared.Armed sentries manned the check post at which I sought entry; being of a suspect race I was quarantined and subjected to additional inspection; once admitted I hired a charioteer who belonged to a serf class lacking the requisite permissions to abide legally and forced therefore to accept work at lower pay; I myself was a form of indentured servant whose right to remain was dependent upon the continued benevolence of my employer. † (157) Once Changez realizes that the American empire is like any other, he also understands that his supposed privileges—his job, his apartment, his expense account—are really the chains that bind him in service to America.Quite opposite from â€Å"the most technologically advanced civilization† in history, it is no better for him than the British Empire was for those of l ow caste. Hamid uses the predator/prey dichotomy to cultivate a relationship of mutual suspicion between Changez and the American. It is unclear which of them is BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue – II. ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services 65 the predator and which of them is the prey, or whether the danger is only perceived and not actual. Bibliography Ania Loomba, Colonialism-Postcolonialism, www. wikipedia. org accessed May/10/2011. Baudrillard, Jean. â€Å"L'Esprit du Terrorisme. † The South Atlantic Quarterly. 101. 2 (Spring 2002): 403-415.David Punter, Postcolonial Imaginings: Fictions of a New World Order Edward Said, Orientalism; Culture and Imperialism Fanon, â€Å"The Wretched of the Earth†, NATC, p. 1587. G Spivak, The Postcolonial Critic Hamid, Mohsin. The Reluctant Fundamentalist. New York, NY: Harcourt, 2007. Homi K. Bhabha, The Location of C ulture; Nation and Narration John McLeod, Beginning Postcolonialism P. Williams and L. Chrisman (eds), Colonial Discourse and Post-Colonial Theory Timothy Brennan, Salman Rushdie and the Third World About the Author – Daryoosh Hayati- Department of English, Lamerd Branch. Islamic Azad University, Iran. [email  protected] ac. ir BARNOLIPI – An Interdisciplinary Journal – Volume – II. Issue – II. ISSN 2249 –2666 www. reflectionedu. com/barnolipi. php  © REFLECTION Mentoring Services